Rio Film Festival Head on Bookending Fest With ‘La Bola Negra’ and ‘Club Kid,’ Expanding Premiére Brasil: ‘I Don’t Want a Festival By-the-Book’ — SkimNews
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- Rio Film Festival will run October 1-11 with over 270 features, opening with Los Javis's Cannes hit "La Bola Negra" and bookending with Jordan Firstman's "Club Kid" to reach younger audiences, Santiago said.
- Premiére Brasil has expanded into multiple sub-strands — coming-of-age, documentary, genre — with over 100 films competing for the Redentor Trophy, including world premieres from Carlos Saldanha and Lucia Murat.
- Santiago programmed 16 national Oscar submissions, including Brazil's "Gugu's World," Sandra Hüller's "Rose," and Lukas Dhont's "Coward," and said the slate intentionally mixes socially conscious dramas with films offering "inner calm."
- South Korea is this year's country of focus at RioMarket, the festival's industry sidebar running October 1-10, where Santiago's team will host discussions on AI, diversity, TikTok, and awards strategy.
- Spain received a strengthened festival relationship this year, with Spanish producer Esther García presiding over the jury and Santiago citing a new generation of Brazilians learning Spanish as evidence of deepening Latin ties.
- Amazon MGM Studios' documentary "Marília Mendonça: All the Feels," about the singer who died in a 2021 plane crash, joins the festival's expanded series slate alongside "City of God: The Fight Rages On."
Why it matters: Santiago's 270-film slate positions Rio as a Latin American launchpad that now actively brokers co-production ties with Spain (via García's jury presidency) and South Korea (via RioMarket's country focus), arriving as Brazilian cinema enjoys back-to-back banner years from "I'm Still Here" and "The Secret Agent."
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